By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
The Thanksgiving feast. It evokes such fond food memories. Even vegetarians and vegans are often pleased with the variety of veggie sides that cover their plate on this commemoration. (Not to 
mention the pumpkin or pecan pie that precedes the well-deserved, holiday nap.)
Still, this is a meal firmly and conspicuously arranged around a meat. Vegetarians aren’t necessarily getting a well-rounded dinner. Not to carb about it. Chances are they like whipped potatoes as much as the next person. But there’s a lot more a home chef can do to accommodate non-meat diners at the holidays by simply putting a veggie dish on the table that packs more heft, and a little more protein (not that we want to resurrect any debates over protein at this time).
So to accommodate the vegetarians and/or vegans at your holiday buffet, here are five hearty, seasonal dishes that rely on locally grown veggies gathered from real chefs around the country. (The first four are vegan.)
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Don’t run afoul on Thanksgiving, buy humanely raised, veg-fed turkeys
By Barbara Kessler
If you’re planning a traditional Thanksgiving, you’ll be needing a bird. This year, organic and pastured turkeys are more available than ever. Check your local grocery now, and get on a list if need be.
Here are some places to look for a turkey that’s been raised on organic feed, and allowed a more humane existence.
- Local Harvest — If you’re into local heirloom turkeys or other pedigree varieties you may already be too late! But don’t beat yourself up over it, local farmers in Texas have told us that many connoisseurs place their orders months ahead of time. Still, there’s a flock of healthier birds waiting.
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Tags: · free-range, hormone-free, Local Harvest, Mary's Turkeys, organic, Organic turkeys, Thanksgiving, turkey, vegetarian fed, Whole Foods
Thinking turkey: Don’t panic, there’s still time to order organic
By Shermakaye Bass
Green Right Now
Less than a decade ago, it seems, a turkey was a turkey was a turkey: Nothing fancy, usually frozen, invariably fuller breasted than the turkeys of old. Relatively few consumers concerned themselves with how much freedom the foul had or what sort of feed it was getting. Only the rarified gourmand had even heard of a “heritage” or “heirloom” turkey; and the trend of finding a local farm to choose one’s own bird wasn’t even an option for most people.
That was 10 years ago. Things change. For one thing, the “fresh” bird has trumped the frozen bird ( “fresh” meaning the bird has never been frozen, even though it might have been deep-chilled at a temperature of 26 degrees Fahrenheit and feel slightly frozen).
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Tags: · Organic turkeys, Thanksgiving
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